Riding the wind of rebirth

Chapter 1617: Unwelcome Colorful Porcelain

After a conversation, Zhou Zhi had a full grasp of Old John's anxiety.

This is also a matter of course.

The production of Chinese colored porcelain entered a new historical stage during the Ming and Qing dynasties, when it was on par with blue and white porcelain. The production level during the reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty was particularly high, marking another peak in the history of Chinese porcelain development.

The so-called five-color porcelain is made of copper, iron, cobalt, manganese and other mineral materials with main coloring agents, and is formed by low-temperature firing. It is a representative variety of low-temperature secondary molding porcelain.

There are two types of pigments for multicolored porcelain: underglaze and overglaze. Commonly used colors include red, yellow, green, purple, ochre, black, etc. The so-called multicolored does not mean that five colors appear at the same time, but means multiple colors, but red must be included in them to be multicolored.

The term "five colors" appeared in the late Ming Dynasty. Starting from the red overglaze of the Hongwu period, it developed into the red over yellow of the Chenghua period, and then to the combination of red, green, yellow, and purple. The colors began to change from light and elegant to strong.

In the Hongzhi reign, carved patterns and colored patterns appeared. In the Zhengde reign, white-ground colored patterns appeared. By the Jiajing reign, the pattern had basically reached maturity. The official kiln porcelain was more colorful than that of the previous dynasties, and was mostly painted in red, green, yellow, ochre, purple, peacock blue, etc. The red color was "jujube skin red"; the green was peacock green, which was divided into dark green and light green; the purple was bright ochre purple; and the yellow color was like beeswax.

Not only official kilns, but also private kilns began to produce multicolored porcelain in large quantities. Both its quality and production quantity were impressive, and it was famous for its colorful colors, creating a new situation in the production of multicolored porcelain.

The shapes of vessels also began to develop towards larger sizes; large jars, large vats, large plates, flower pots, etc. were common at this time.

After the war, during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, overglaze multicolored porcelain was resumed on the basis of the Ming Dynasty, and some innovations were made. During the Kangxi period, five-color porcelain had another major breakthrough.

Because the outline and blue parts of the previous five colors were fired together when the white body was fired, it is equivalent to firing blue and white porcelain first, and then adding other colors for a second low-temperature firing. Therefore, it is also called "underglaze blue and white five colors", or "blue and white five colors".

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, the underglaze blue and white technique used since the Ming Dynasty began to be replaced by the invention of overglaze blue.

The success of overglaze blue glaze basically changed the situation that blue and white five-color porcelain dominated the Ming Dynasty. Although the five-color porcelain of this period is still divided into overglaze five-color porcelain and blue and white five-color porcelain, overglaze five-color porcelain best reflects and represents the artistic achievements and characteristics of Kangxi five-color porcelain.

The blue pigment used at this time was the Zhuming pigment from Yunnan, which was emerald green in color. Not only was the blue color richer and brighter than blue and white, but the production process of other pigments also became superb, with bright and clear colors, gorgeous decorations, and strong and powerful painting lines, reaching a very high artistic level.

In a sense, the multicolored porcelain from the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty was truly multicolored porcelain.

At this time, the five colors were painted with a variety of pigments. The official kilns were famous for their regular painting and delicate brushwork, while the folk kilns were known for their rich and gorgeous glazes and fresh and lively painting ideas. The pictures appear calm, warm and not impetuous, which is its distinctive feature.

In addition, black color also began to be added to the multicolored porcelain, mostly used to paint tree branches, flower leaf veins, mountain peaks, people's eyes, buns, decorative ribbons, shoes, etc., and later used to paint the outline of patterns, local dotting or fragmentary pictures, and finally developed to large-scale use, and a layer of glass white was applied on the black color to make the black color appear darker and brighter.

The contrast effect of black color can make the picture more gorgeous.

The rich colors also make the picture more realistic and lifelike. In addition, the extensive use of gold in the five-color painting makes the Kangxi five-color painting more magnificent.

Thus, the real prosperity of overglaze colorful porcelain came, and the peak works such as white-ground colorful porcelain, blue-green-ground colorful porcelain, blue-ground gold-painted colorful porcelain, rice-ground colorful porcelain, red-ground colorful porcelain, blue-ground colorful porcelain, black-ground colorful porcelain, Ge-glaze colorful porcelain, and brocade-ground opening colorful porcelain were developed, which fully demonstrated the excellent painting art and manufacturing technology of overglaze colorful porcelain in the Kangxi period. As this technique was introduced to the folk, folk kilns also began to fire this new type of colorful porcelain in large quantities. The scope of use of colorful porcelain became wider and wider, not only on the porcelain used for display, but also on the porcelain used in daily life.

From small daily bowls, plates and dishes to large vases, incense burners, pen holders, etc. In the later period, the Guanyin statue and Fengwei statue far exceeded the level of Jiajing, which brought out the beauty of colorful porcelain to the fullest.

The creative themes also became more colorful as colorful porcelain became popular among the people.

The addition of colors expanded the feasibility of the themes that craftsmen could paint, while the richness of the patterns also better expressed the colors.

The decorative themes of Kangxi multicolored porcelain include plants and flowers, flowers, birds, fish, insects, landscapes and figures. The Qianlong Dynasty liked full and magnificent decorations, and all decorative patterns must have auspicious meanings and no blank space.

With the increase of the citizen class, colorful porcelain with historical stories and novel stories became more popular among private collectors. For example, classic scenes from "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Romance of the West Chamber" were used as the themes of colorful porcelain decoration.

The most famous decoration of the Kangxi Dynasty is the "horse-sword man", and the painting style is also influenced by the late Ming Dynasty painter Chen Laolian. The Kangxi Dynasty was not far from the era of the Qing Dynasty, and the Manchus were a nation on horseback before entering the pass, so the admiration of the "horse-sword man" has a significant characteristic of the times, which is a true portrayal of the spiritual world of nomadic peoples.

The porcelain patterns of the Qianlong Dynasty were popular with reference to themes of literati paintings or folk customs and stories, such as Fisherman's Joy, Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, etc. Some of these patterns reflect the peaceful and tranquil mood of literati, while others reflect the beautiful expectations and wishes of ordinary people, and embody people's beautiful emotions.

However, since the five-color porcelain must be based on outlines, most craftsmen pay attention to strength and power when painting, and their techniques are skillful and fast. Even for literati paintings, the masculine beauty of the Oriental people can be seen in the shape and patterns of the five-color porcelain.

This makes even the official kiln wares, Kangxi five-color wares, show a "folk kiln flavor", and the folk kilns are even more completely free of themselves, and from the perspective of artistic taste, they become somewhat rough and simple.

Compared with the gradually appearing pastels and expensive and delicate enamels during this period, the five-color system is obviously not in line with the aesthetic tastes of foreigners.

Therefore, Old John had a lot of colorful porcelain in his hands. When he finally found a customer who liked it, he would immediately take the sheep and start to pull as much as he could.

So the two of them rummaged around in the warehouse for a long time yesterday, and Zhou Zhi picked up another huge bargain. In addition to the Kangxi five-color porcelain, Zhou Zhi even found a Chenghua "yellow on red" plate with a blue ground and yellow phoenix wearing a Baoxiang flower, a Jiajing plain three-color painted jar with figures and stories, and a Wanli blue and white overglaze five-color general covered jar with a story about Kunyang.

In addition, there is a Shunzhi five-color dragon-patterned pen holder, five early Kangxi hard-color twelve-month flower cups, an early hard-color maid flower picture, four early Three Kingdoms drama tiles, a middle period flower and bird picture flower and rice, a late period five-color insect bamboo and chrysanthemum picture plate, and a Kuilong-patterned peony and lotus monk's hat pot.

The above ones are all official kiln wares, as well as folk kiln wares such as a set of four-piece plates with a hundred bats and a hundred seals; dozens of porcelain pieces from many eras, with various themes, various coloring styles, and various shapes, such as Man Chuang Hu, The West Chamber, Fisherman's Joy, Farming and Weaving, Grass Insects, Flowers and Birds, Clouds and Dragons, Landscapes, Eight Immortals Celebrating a Birthday, Eight Treasures, Antiques, and Entwined Flowers.

This large purchase cost Zhou Zhi more than 5,000 US dollars, which directly added a series to Zhou Zhi's collection.

Of course, clearing out old John's collection of colorful porcelain also solved the big problem of his long-standing inventory, and he was immediately listed as a VIP of Seidenberg Antiques.